Alec Baldwin Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter for Death of Halyna Hutchins in 'Rust' Shooting
Alec Baldwin has been indicted by a grand jury in the shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. On Friday, special prosecutors Kari T. Morrisey and Jason Lewis announced that a grand jury has indicted the actor with a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
If convicted of the fourth-degree felony, Baldwin would facing up to 18 months in prison.
"We look forward to our day in court," Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, told ET in a statement.
Attorney Gloria Allred also reacted to the news in a statement, telling ET, "Our clients have always sought the truth about what happened on the day that Halyna Hutchins was tragically shot and killed on October 21, 2021. They continue to seek the truth in our civil lawsuit for them and they also would like there to be accountability in the criminal justice system."
"The grand jury has decided that there is sufficient evidence to indict Alec Baldwin on the charge of involuntary manslaughter," Allred's statement continued. "We are looking forward to the criminal trial which will determine if he should be convicted for the untimely death of Halyna, who was the daughter of our clients Olga Solovey and Anatolii Androsovych, the sister of Svetlana Zemko, and the co-worker of our client, Mamie Mitchell."
Back in October, the special prosecutors announced that they intended to present the case to a Santa Fe grand jury and argue probable cause existed to criminally charge the 65-year-old actor.
The special prosecutors claimed they came to the determination following an extensive investigation that they say yielded "additional facts" that showed Baldwin "has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of [Rust director] Joel Souza."
Hutchins, 42, was killed on Oct. 21, 2021 on the set of Rust -- at the Bonanza Creek Ranch -- when the prop gun Baldwin was holding suddenly discharged, striking and killing the cinematographer and injuring Souza.
Hutchins was transported by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, according to authorities. She was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the hospital. Souza, 50, received emergency medical care after being transported by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. He was later released.
Baldwin has repeatedly maintained that he did not pull the trigger on the prop gun.
In the months since tragedy struck in New Mexico, lawsuits were filed, criminal charges were filed -- then dropped, for Baldwin -- and allegations were made, including that the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana during filming of the Western.
In January 2023, prosecutors charged Gutierrez-Reed with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. She pleaded not guilty. Her trial is set to begin in February.
David Halls, the film's assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun, signed a plea deal for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. The terms included a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
Rust ultimately resumed filming in Montana, and production wrapped in May.
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